GLENDALE, Ariz. — Oregon has been to the Final Four, but essentially in another sport.

Back then, the NCAA Tournament occurred with little fanfare, and less exposure. Back then, the Ducks were the Webfoots, playing to small gyms and smaller crowds.

Oregon became the first NCAA Tournament champion in 1939, a title that couldn’t compare with Long Island University’s NIT crown; a distinction that only mattered in retrospect.

Oregon loomed large, though, a team known as the “Tall Firs,” a vertically gifted group who bullied their way through the inaugural tournament, winning by an average of more than 15 points per game.

Now, 78 years later, the game is virtually unrecognizable, but a path to a championship could look the same.

In its first national semifinal game since the first-ever NCAA Tournament, No. 3 Oregon (33-5) will have to stop the imposing frontline of No. 1 North Carolina (31-7) from leading the Tar Heels to a second straight title game.

In an era when 3-pointers get green lights like layups, North Carolina sees no need for four-guard lineups. As the game evolves, Roy Williams still demands the ball be thrown to the block, to whichever big man — Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks or Tony Bradley — resides in the paint.

“It’s basically what we’ve tried to do all year with everybody, we try to establish the inside game first,” Williams said. “It’s the kind of thing I believe in … and I don’t think I’ll see Kennedy and Isaiah pull up from 3 on a break or anything. If we do see that, it will be the last time we see it. I’ve always felt like going inside was really important. This year’s team, it’s been important to them and helped us a great deal.”

For four tournament games, Oregon unexpectedly has thrived without injured big man Chris Boucher, but its first opponent with a true interior presence could leave the Ducks vulnerable.

“The boards are a big concern,” coach Dana Altman said. “The rebounding battle is definitely going to probably be the one that decides the game. We’re a little undersized in a few positions, and without Chris Boucher, our depth there is not very good.”

Dillon BrooksGetty Images

Even star Jordan Bell seems to be worried he might not have enough help down low to contain the top rebounding team in the country.

“They’re all big and they all can score,” Bell said. “I think it’s going to be a tough matchup for the whole team.”

The Tar Heels plan to make it even tougher, hoping to use Bell’s aggressiveness against him and put the star in foul trouble — and on Oregon’s thin bench.

“That’s our main objective as bigs to get the ball as deep as possible and get easy shots, and hope that he fouls us, and use our pump fakes because he’s a shot blocker,” Meeks said.

Oregon, of course, also sees the opportunities available in this matchup. Its athletic lineup can sprint past the slow-footed big men. Its four-guard attack can find open looks on the perimeter, the formula used to slay top-seeded Kansas.

“They’ve got to guard small ball,” Pac-12 Player of the Year Dillon Brooks said. “The bigs have to come out and guard me. I feel like that’s a disadvantage for them, and we exploit mismatches all the time. It’s hard to scout us.”

North Carolina is easier to scout and tougher to stop. Without another upset, Oregon’s journey will be harder to remember than the grainy, black-and-white adventures of their first-ever Final Four.

“Nobody’s going to remember who made the Final Four 10 years down the line,” Ducks guard Tyler Dorsey said. “They’re going to remember who won it. We want to win it. We want to make history. We want to be that team to be remembered forever.”